I learned from the author's note of this book that the time period between the early 1900s until the mid 1970s was considered "the Great Migration" where more than 6 million African Americans moved from the south to Northern cities such as New York City. The book is dedicated to those who left the South to move to the North.

A frog peacefully resting on a rock exhales, “AAHH!” His rest is interrupted by a boy with a jar who captures him gleefully exclaiming, “Ah Ha!” An excited puppy paws the jar, and the frog flies out yelling, “AAHH!” Creating expressive dialogue by rearranging only two letters, this story cleverly conveys the emotions of a frog and the creatures he encounters as he hops out of the frying pan and into the fire time and time again.

This bilingual English/Spanish book celebrates the life of the great Latin Jazz musician Ernest “Tito” Puente (1923-2000). Readers learn about Tito in different stages of his life: as a baby (in New York City of Puerto Rican parents), banging out rhythms on pots and pans; as a kid drumming and dancing his way to talent show success (but still finding time to play baseball with the neighborhood kids); as a young man in the Navy serving his country while developing his gift of playing and writing music; and as a professional musician who wins fame, fortune, love and admiration by using

Hi, everyone! My name is Miss Kristi (a.k.a. the new Library Assistant in Children’s Services). With my reviews, you will find a lot of picture books, books about art, books to film and YA fiction. To get us started, I recently read Alphasaurs and Other Prehistoric Types by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss. Awesome doesn’t even begin to describe this book!

This outstanding non-fiction picture book for older readers tells the story of African American artist Horace Pippin. A quote from the book: "Pictures just come to my mind...and I tell my heart to go ahead," is touching when you think of a child who did not have real art supplies of his own until he won a contest. During World War I Horace was wounded in the right shoulder, and was unable to draw the way he had loved to so much.

In 1775, the British Army had settled in Boston, and General Washington had no way of getting them to leave. Bookstore owner Henry Knox had the idea to retrieve 59 cannons from Fort Ticonderoga...in the middle of the winter. This involved traveling over ice, snow, mountains, woods, lakes, and once in a while there was a road to follow. After fifty days of traveling from Fort Ticonderoga, Henry arrived in Boston with all 59 cannons.

This adorable Penguin Young Readers Level 2 Early Reader about a red balloon and a yellow kite who fall in love is delightful. The simple, brightly colored illustrations will attract young readers, and the story will soften the hardest of hearts. The ending makes this librarian hope for some kind of sequel, either with kite and balloon again, or with another set of similar objects falling in love.

Around the Neighborhood: a Counting Lullaby is an adaptation of "Over in the Meadow", the classic folk song that was first written down in 1870. A mother and her baby baby set off for a walk around the neighborhood, and see numerous animals that a child might normally see in their neighborhood, such as cats, crows, bees, or ladybugs. The illustrations were produced digitally, and are easy to recognize, with bright colors galore.

“Line up every kind of plant and animal on Earth…and one of every four will be a beetle.” So begins the Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins, a treasure trove of fascinating facts about beetles the world over, including information about body structure, life cycles, communication, defenses, and other beetle behaviors.

This bilingual poem by the late author of the famous Brown Bear, Brown Bear series, Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson tells some of the very descriptive reasons our Earth is so beautiful. Dan Lipow's photographs are lush and bright with color. The children featured in the pictures are from multiple cultures, although the photos do not identify them. This book was recently successfully shared in a Spanish/English bilingual storytime. For all ages.

Meet Wendell, Wilmer, Willy Woody and Walter—5 bird-like juggler brothers who perform together in a hilarious stage show, while demonstrating basic math concepts such as counting, addition, subtraction and comparison. The reader audience will learn as they laugh at the Wing Wing Brothers’ antics and comic appearance. Parents and teachers will appreciate that the book meets the Common Core Standards for kindergarten mathematics; kids will appreciate the goofiness and fun.

This Ready to Read Level One early reader tells the story of Teddy Rex, a new student at Dino School.Teddy has a very loud roar, and has to be reminded to use his indoor roar.He learns that at recess though, he can roar as loudly as he would like.This early reader is gr

In this fun Level 1 Starting to Read reader published by Stone Arch (Guided Reading Level E), Fire Truck and Tractor are getting ready for the big parade with the help of their friends Train and School Bus. They get clean and decorated, but they are missing something. What could it be? There are several early readers about these characters, which are just right for the child who is getting ready to read, plus loves transportation vehicles.

“Why do it?” I asked myself. “Just months ago, you reviewed a book about a dog with a second chance at a happy life (Saving Audie by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent), so why do another so soon?” “I can’t help it!” was my reply. “I’ve fallen in love, and people in love can do foolish things. So there!”

On August 28, 1963, almost 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his powerful and iconic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. The “Dream” portion of the stirring speech provides the narrative for this picture book, illustrated with inspired and inspiring paintings by Caldecott Honor Award-winning artist Kadir Nelson. Nelson includes portraits of Dr.

Booklover Morris Lessmore methodically records his life one page at a time until a terrible storm carries him away and destroys his words and his surroundings. A young woman, who is being pulled skyward by an array of colorful books, gives him her favorite, which leads him to an extraordinary library. The stories entice Morris who devotes his life to repairing the books and reading the stories to keep them alive.

This early chapter book is an abridged version of the 1964 collection, “The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales” written by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst and illustrated by Caldecott and Coretta Scott King award winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney.It’s part of the level 4 Passport to Reading series.According to the i

Attention-grabbing large colorful pictures of dragons and a spirited plotline that parallels a child’s morning routine will win over young children in Jane Yolen’s latest picture book. A small knight awakens huge sleeping dragons, feeds them pancakes with a catapult, brushes their fangs and hurries them out so they can fly him to Knight School.

Roger, a long sausage dog, is looking for more meaning from life. When life hands him potatoes, he creates a French fry stand, and his French fries become famous around the world. But Roger worries that people only love him for his fries, and he looks for even more from his life. When Roger meets Charlotte the Corn Cob Queen, a whole new adventure begins. The illustrations are charming, and this book has been a hit with every school age group I've read it with. A recipe is included at the back of the book.

Superheroes must be strong and do good deeds. From the time he is born, Veggiebaby loves to eat lots of vegetables and play with his food, making broccoli bears and giant green gorillas. He quickly grows into Veggieboy and practices his superhero skills—flying, lifting and helping old ladies. His shape-shifting practice turns him into a carrot, and luckily, back to himself again. He eats more vegetables and becomes Veggieman.